Page 57 of Bonds of Magic
“Painkillers,” Noah said. “Stick them on the affected bodypart and they melt into it, dissolving pain as they go. Last about six hours each.”
“Oh.”
He removed a small glass jar filled with bright blue jelly, streaked with swirls of red, like raspberry jam.
“This should accelerate healing,” he said. “If you won’t go to Cinda, it’s the best I can do. Now hold still.”
The jelly was both hot and cold as he rubbed it onto my skin with his fingertips. Or maybe it was Noah touching me that made me feel that way. His strokes were delicate—more gentle than I knew he could be. I bit my lip, willing myself not to moan or otherwise embarrass myself.
He didn’t look at me as he pulled his fingers away, which was just as well. I already missed his caress, and I didn’t want him to read that on my face.
“This should help with the pain for the next twelve hours or so,” he said, pulling out one of the inscribed rolls of bandages. “It’s not as strong as those plasters, but it’ll keep the salve in place. And by the time twelve hours have passed, you should be through the worst of it.”
He began unrolling the bandage, and I reached for it.
“Here, I can—” I said, at the same time as he said, “Lift your—” and our fingers touched.
“Sorry.” I pulled my hand away. I hated how breathless I sounded. Hated how the brush of his fingers was enough to send me flying.
I lifted my arms so he could wrap the bandage around me, and closed my eyes, not letting myself watch his strong hands working so close to my skin. When I opened them, he was looking down at his handiwork.
“There.” He sounded pleased, and even gave me a quick smile. I smiled back.
Ridiculous. I’d been annoyed at him a minute ago, and now I was ready to throw myself at his feet?Great job with the emotional consistency, Cory. You’re a paragon of reason and temperance.
“Where did you get that stuff? Does Cinda have it too?” I nodded at the kit. I had to say something, so that I didn’t blurt out, ‘Please put your hands on me again,’ instead.
“Cinda has this and more,” Noah said. “She’s a healer, and could actually use spells to help you. This kit is just something I’ve cobbled together along the way.”
“Along what way?” I asked, genuinely curious now. “How did you learn how to do all of this? First aid and fighting and all that?”
Maybe it was stupid to ask, but I wanted to know where he’d learned to take care of people. Where he’d learned how to touch me so gently.
He looked at me for a long moment, and right when I thought he wasn’t going to answer, he said, “I used to be a bounty hunter.”
Of all the things I’d expected him to say, none of them werethat.
“What?”
“You’ve never heard of them?” Noah said with a short laugh, putting the salve back into the kit and stowing it under the sink again.
“No, I mean, obviously I have. But I didn’t expect… That is, it’s not exactly a common job.”
He shrugged. “It made sense. For a while.”
“Who did you, um, hunt?”
Noah shot me a sharp look, and I hurried on.
“Like, was it other paranormal beings? Or witches? Or regular people?”
“I didn’t discriminate. There are people who need capturing—or killing—from all walks of life.”
I shivered. He said it so easily. Like killing was an everyday kind of thing. Maybe, for him, it was.
“Did you still have your powers, when you were doing that?”
He nodded. “They helped. You can learn a lot about a person from their dreams.”
